A post on SemiAccurate breaks down some information from PC Watch (translation) suggesting that Intel's upcoming Broadwell CPUs will be soldered to the motherboard, rather than socketed, a detail they have now confirmed with a pair of OEMs. They offer the distressed opinion that this will be a death knell to the desktop PC and the enthusiast market, and though they add that they've received information indicating there's a "good chance" that the Sky Lake processors that will follow Broadwell will be socketed for one or two generations to follow, they conclude: "By then the last remaining overclockers and experimenters on the PC front will be gone, and for good technical reasons." Thanks Ant via Slashdot.

Dades wrote on Nov 28, 2012, 22:41:Look at LGA 775, you could start out with a launch Core 2 Duo E6400 and end up with a Q9500 or better years later. That's not possible with BGA. I have even swapped motherboards in the same generation when I wanted some specific features or had tech issues.

You still needed to mobo swap a lot of that era due to die shrinks and compatibility issues though. BGA signalling isn't even a large improvement so I'm not sure its the answer either but oh well.

Personally I think Intel should wise up and ditch the upcoming mobile market entirely at a retail and OEM level. There are going to be more players, ARM is well poised and the profits are nowhere near what they are used to. Intel should just become a foundry business, no one else has their facilities but there are a ton of companies who want them without the astronomical capital asset requirements.

This author makes a pretty convincing argument that's similar, splitting the business up into three distinct units and essentially shepherding the mobile industry instead of trying to directly compete.

Verno wrote on Nov 28, 2012, 12:45:Getting back on topic, this reminds me of the Slot 1 era debacles.

Forget Slot 1. Look at LGA 775, you could start out with a launch Core 2 Duo E6400 and end up with a Q9500 or better years later. That's not possible with BGA. I have even swapped motherboards in the same generation when I wanted some specific features or had tech issues.

Verno wrote on Nov 28, 2012, 12:45:I'd like to be able to choose an unlocked CPU that isn't tied to a blingbling LED motherboard that has shroud that looks like it belongs in a metal concert.

move to have this stricken from the record, pure conjecture. where exactly have you seen intel mainboards that look like what you're describing? have you SEEN 3rd party mobo's lately? yeah, we can do away with all of these:

Getting back on topic, this reminds me of the Slot 1 era debacles. Seemed like a good idea on the surface but it was hell for businesses and they are a far more important market than retail consumer. Most companies probably don't mind having a close relationship with Intel but I doubt would share the same enthusiasm for your average motherboard supplier. Integrators will scream bloody murder and for justifiable reasons.

Speaking for myself as a consumer, I'd like to be able to choose an unlocked CPU that isn't tied to a blingbling LED motherboard that has shroud that looks like it belongs in a metal concert. The whole "making it easier for average consumers" bit is a red herring, this sort of move is more related to Intel consolidating designs for mobile efforts. They just finished buying an ARM company as well which just cements it.

InBlack wrote on Nov 28, 2012, 04:20:Actually Slick does make a lot of valid points.

Except for the where he says that Intel isnt doint this out of greed....

Erm. I got news for you Slick. Corporations exist only to make profit, and more profit == better.

If you believe otherwise you are deluding yourself.

what company wants to piss off their customers? i just don't see the long-term gain here. obviously companies exist to make money, they have no moral obligation, they're entirely pragmatic. If they alienated me as a customer, i'd shop elsewhere, bottom line.

i love this idea that a company as large as Intel can basically do no good. their products have enhanced all of our lives over the years, so why the hate? greed? no.

a greedy company wouldn't have launched a massive recall in 2010 for a small percentage of chips who's SATA controllers would possibly decay over time. A greedy company wouldn't eat a $500 million loss because they wanted to keep their customers happy.

no. a greedy company WOULD have kept the money, and assume that the chips break then customers only have to buy another one. that's greed.

Greed is Sony and their $100 32GB proprietary memory cards for the PSVita, when i can buy a 2TB HDD for $69.99. That is greed. and look how it's working out for Sony? last i checked the 3DS outsold the Vita in Japan by 47 to 1.

Judge companies on their track record, and their actions. and if they fuck up, hold their feet to the fire. but don't just assume that all large businesses are greedy, and all of their decisions focused on short term gain at the expense of pissing off their customers. that would just be bad business.

There are two kinds of conservatives, the rich and the stupid, and most of them aren't rich. -Cutter

Rather a uneducated post if you ask me. I usually use AMD cpu's for most builds for one major reason. 99% of applications are not cpu bound, but i/o and graphically bound. Intel's graphics are still pathetic. The AMD cpu's for far less cost do fine, even in games which do tax the cpu some.

I just hope that AMD sticks around. If you are buying Intel cpus you are just signing your own fate.

Verno wrote on Nov 27, 2012, 21:47:I was wondering when space captain would get around to re-registering

Yeah, the inability to use a shift key is a dead give away. The funny thing is that I missed when he was banned. Blue had been threatening him for what seemed like years, but ole' Spacely always seemed to avoid the axe. 'Til now I guess.

“The greatness of a nation and its moral progress can be judged by the way its animals are treated.” - Mahatma Gandhi

nice to hear from the peanut gallery, but do you have anything clever to post other than:

"you are the weakest link, goodbye!"

i drew 2 analogies with regards to the topic at hand, care to completely disregard them and instead just throw one-liners at me? hey cool thanks!

that shit with doctors in america is real, just cause you're ignorant of the issue doesn't mean it don't exist y'all hyuk!

doctors who make fatal mistakes and who are unqualified should be held responsible, but there's evidence that the bulk of lawsuits brought are frivolous. Of all malpractice lawsuits brought to jury trial in 2004, the defendant won 91% of the time.

Texas went from the state with the most lawsuits filed to the only state that wrote tort reform into its constitution after its citizens voted it into law. Since tort reform was enacted in 2004, the yearly premium doctors pay in Texas for malpractice insurance has dropped by 40%. Now, the most plaintiffs can recoup for emotional damages is $250,000 from doctors and $500,000 from hospitals. Most interestingly, the number of claims filed against doctors has dropped by about half.

Miami-Dade County, in South Florida, is now the most precarious place for doctors to practice when it comes to lawsuits. In 2007, OB/GYNs paid on average $275,466 annually for malpractice insurance.

this isn't about actual malpractice, it's about perceived malpractice because you hear from your aunt that you can actually cure cancer by rubbing honey all over your testicles. ie. frivolous lawsuits. If you're paying over a quarter million a year in malpractice insurance, then you're not practicing medicine, you're practicing self defense.

There actually a projected shortage of medical practitioners in the next 10 years in America, between 90,000 and 200,000 more will be needed than are going to school today. that's not a problem?

The ones who are left aren't looking out for you, they're looking out for themselves by making you think you have all the control and choice in the world, and the doctor is only a humble service tech there to take your order and work for you. God forbid

and having family who A) has cancer B) practices medicine in the US might give me some insight, but you're right, i guess i'm just nuts. more choice for all! infact let's all sue mcdonalds because they took away my choice to supersize my meal. it's my choice damnit! america!

There are two kinds of conservatives, the rich and the stupid, and most of them aren't rich. -Cutter